JP4992582B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

The connector described in Patent Document 1 includes a connector housing in which a plurality of cavities into which terminal fittings can be inserted are arranged in parallel in the width direction. A bendable lance is provided on the inner wall of the cavity so that the terminal fittings normally inserted in the cavity are temporarily prevented from coming off by the lance. On both sides of the lance in the width direction, a die-cutting hole is formed in the front surface of the connector housing by a die that passes when the lance is molded. The die-cutting holes are continuous with both side surfaces in the width direction of the cavity and are provided wider than the both side surfaces. The center of the cavity in the width direction coincides with the center of the lance in the width direction. Further, a retainer mounting hole through which a retainer for secondary removal of a terminal fitting inserted into the cavity through the cavity can be inserted is provided on the side surface of the connector housing.
JP 2003-157922 A

  By the way, for example, when there is a demand for connector miniaturization in which both side surfaces of the connector housing are narrowed, the cavity closest to both side surfaces of the connector housing is brought closer to the center in the width direction in accordance with this narrowing Otherwise, the wall thickness between the side surface in the width direction of the retainer mounting hole (side surface in the width direction of the cavity) and the side surface in the width direction of the connector housing cannot be secured sufficiently, and the strength of this portion is insufficient. Therefore, it is necessary to pack the pitch between the cavity closest to the side surface in the width direction of the connector housing and the adjacent cavity. However, in this case, when the lance closest to the side surface of the connector housing in the width direction is moved toward the center in the width direction corresponding to the shift amount of the cavity, the die-cutting holes are projected on both sides in the width direction of the cavity. There is a situation in which the wall thickness between the die-cutting hole corresponding to the lance and the die-cutting hole adjacent to the lance cannot be secured sufficiently, and this time the strength of this part is insufficient. As a result, there is a possibility that the request for connector miniaturization cannot be met.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to reduce the size of a connector.

As a means for achieving the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the connector housing is provided with a plurality of cavities in which a terminal fitting can be inserted from the rear side by side in the width direction, and the terminal is provided on the inner wall of the cavity. A lance for retaining the metal fitting is provided along with the cavity in the height direction, and on both sides in the width direction of the lance, die-cutting holes for forming the lance are connected to both sides in the width direction of the cavity and the both sides. A connector provided wider than the surface, wherein the cavity closest to the side surface in the width direction of the connector housing is eccentric in the width direction with respect to the lance aligned with the cavity in the height direction, and is relative to the lance. to the located in the widthwise center side of the connector housing, the connector housing, the rear than the lance and the die-cut hole A retainer mounting hole is provided through which the retainer that can be inserted into the cavity and secondarily prevents the terminal fitting inserted into the cavity from being inserted. The latch receiving portion for holding the retainer is recessed on the side surface in the width direction of the retainer mounting hole .

<Invention of Claim 1>
The cavity closest to the side surface of the connector housing in the width direction is eccentric in the width direction with respect to the lance aligned with the cavity in the height direction, and is located relatively closer to the center in the width direction of the connector housing than this lance. Even if the connector housing is made narrow, a sufficient wall thickness can be secured between the side surface in the width direction of the cavity and the side surface in the width direction of the connector housing. On the other hand, since the lance closest to the side surface in the width direction of the connector housing is positioned relatively closer to both sides in the width direction of the connector housing than the above-mentioned cavity, even if the connector housing is narrow, the die removal corresponding to this lance is performed. A sufficient wall thickness can be secured between the hole and the punching hole adjacent to the hole. Therefore, the connector can be reduced in size without hindrance.

Even if the connector housing is provided with a retainer mounting hole, the retainer mounting hole is located behind the lance and the mold release hole, so the side inner surface of the retainer mounting hole and the width side surface of the connector housing A sufficient wall thickness can be ensured, and a lack of strength can be avoided.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector of the first embodiment includes a female terminal fitting (not shown), a connector housing 10, and a retainer 60, and the connector housing 10 can be fitted with a mating connector housing (not shown). In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the fitting surface side of both connector housings is the front.

  The connector housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and has a block shape elongated in the front-rear direction, as shown in FIGS. The connector housing 10 is provided with a cavity 11 penetrating in the front-rear direction, and a terminal fitting can be inserted into the cavity 11 from behind. The cavities 11 are arranged in a plurality of rows in the height direction and in a plurality of rows in the width direction. Specifically, two cavities are arranged in the height direction and two chambers are arranged in the width direction.

  A retainer mounting hole 12 into which the retainer 60 can be inserted is provided on the side surface of the connector housing 10 so as to open. The retainer mounting hole 12 has a shape that opens in a substantially rectangular shape on one side surface of the connector housing 10, and has a height dimension (depth dimension) and a width dimension that communicate with all the cavities 11. Is continuous with both side surfaces of the cavity 11 in the width direction. Locking receiving portions 13 and 14 for holding the retainer 60 are recessed on both side surfaces in the width direction of the retainer mounting hole 12. The latch receiving portions 13 and 14 are composed of a temporary latch receiving portion 13 that holds the retainer 60 in the temporary latching position and a main latch receiving portion 14 that holds the retainer 60 in the final latching position. It is provided side by side in the vertical direction.

  The opening diameter of the front surface of the cavity 11 is narrower than the hole diameter in the middle of the cavity 11 in the length direction, and the front end of the terminal fitting can be stopped by the front wall 19 of the cavity 11. The “cavity” in the present invention corresponds to a portion having the maximum width in the cavity 11 unless otherwise specified.

  Further, the connector housing 10 is provided with a lance 15 along the inner wall of the cavity 11 and in front of the retainer mounting hole 12 so as to be able to bend and deform. Specifically, the lance 15 is connected to the inner lower wall of the cavity 11 with its root connected to the lance main body 16 that extends forward in a cantilevered manner, and is located at the tip of the lance main body 16 and enters the cavity 11. The locking projection 17 and the lance body 16 are integrally connected with substantially the same width. On the both sides in the width direction of the lance 15 in the connector housing 10, die-cutting holes 18 are provided by molds that pass when both side surfaces in the width direction of the lance 15 are molded. The die-cutting hole 18 is opened only on the front surface of the connector housing 10, communicates with the cavity 11 with a width dimension larger than the width dimension of the cavity 11, and is provided wider than both side surfaces of the cavity 11 in the width direction. .

  When molding both side surfaces of the locking projection 17 in the width direction, the lower end portions of the side surfaces in the width direction of the cavity 11 and the die-cutting holes 18 communicate with each other, so that the cross-sectional shape of the front end portion of the cavity 11 is convex. It is like that. On the other hand, the cross-sectional shape of the portion of the cavity 11 excluding the above-described front end portion is substantially in line with the outer edge shape of the terminal fitting.

  Here, the cavity 11 and the corresponding lance 15 are eccentric in the width direction, that is, the width direction center of the cavity 11 and the width direction center of the lance 15 are displaced from each other. Specifically, all the cavities 11 are positioned closer to the center of the connector housing 10 in the width direction than the lances 15 aligned with the cavities 11 in the height direction. The connector housing 10 is located relatively closer to the both sides in the width direction than the cavities 11 arranged in a row. However, the entire locking projection 17 is accommodated in the cavity 11, and a gap is formed between both side surfaces in the width direction of the locking projection 17 and both side surfaces in the width direction of the cavity 11. Further, due to the displacement of the lance 15, the die-cutting holes 18 located on both sides in the width direction of the connector housing 10 have a protruding amount from the side edge in the width direction of the cavity 11 than the die-cutting holes 18 located near the center in the width direction. It is getting bigger.

In the first embodiment, the cavity 11 and the lance 15 are eccentric from each other in the above-described manner, so that the width of the connector housing 10 can be reduced.
That is, as shown in the comparative example of FIG. 2, before the connector housing 10 is narrowed, the center in the width direction of the cavity 11A coincides with the center in the width direction of the lance 15A, and the width dimension of the connector housing 10A. Is set to A, the wall thickness between the side surface in the width direction of the cavity 11A and the side surface in the width direction of the connector housing 10A is set to B, and the wall thickness between the adjacent cavities 11A in the width direction is set to C. The wall thickness between the punching holes 18A adjacent to each other in the direction is set to D. When the width of the connector housing 10A is narrowed in this state, as shown in FIG. 3, the width dimension of the connector housing 10 is reduced to A1 (A1 <A), and the wall thickness between the cavities 11 adjacent in the width direction is also reduced. The pitch is reduced to C1 (C1 <C) in accordance with the reduction amount (A-A1) of the width dimension of the housing 10 to reduce the pitch. However, even if the width of the connector housing 10A is narrow, if the cavity 11 and the lance 15 are eccentric from each other in the above-described manner, the wall thickness between the inner surface in the width direction of the cavity 11 and the side surface in the width direction of the connector housing 10 is B can be maintained as it is, and the wall thickness between the punching holes 18 adjacent in the width direction can also be maintained as D. Further, the lances 15 and 15A are maintained at a constant size regardless of the narrowing of the width of the connector housing 10A, and the locking allowance of the locking protrusion 17 with respect to the terminal fitting is not changed.

  The retainer 60 is made of a synthetic resin and is configured as a so-called side retainer that can be inserted into the retainer mounting hole 12 of the connector housing 10 from the side. As shown in FIG. 1, the retainer 60 includes a flat plate-like retainer body 63 having terminal insertion portions 61 and 62 that can communicate with the cavity 11, and a latch that is positioned on both sides in the width direction of the retainer body 63 and extends downward. Arm 64. The locking arm 64 can be bent and deformed inward and outward, and a locking claw 65 that can be elastically locked with the locking receiving portions 13 and 14 of the retainer mounting hole 12 is formed at the tip thereof so as to protrude outward. The terminal insertion portions 61 and 62 include a window hole portion 61 corresponding to the upper cavity 11 and a notch recess 62 corresponding to the lower cavity 11, and each inner edge of the window hole 61 and the notch recess 62. A holding projection 66 is formed to protrude inward.

  When the retainer 60 is in the temporary locking position, the end of the retainer 60 is arranged to protrude outward from the retainer mounting hole 12, and the locking arm 64 is elastically locked to the temporary locking receiving portion 13. The holding projection 66 is disposed outside the cavity 11 so that the insertion operation of the terminal fitting into the cavity 11 is allowed. On the other hand, when the retainer 60 is in the main locking position, the entire retainer 60 is inserted into the retainer mounting hole 12, and the locking arm 64 is elastically locked to the main locking receiving portion 14 and the holding projection. 66 enters into the cavity 11 to hold the terminal fitting secondarily so that the terminal fitting is reliably prevented from coming out of the cavity 11.

Next, the procedure for assembling the connector according to the first embodiment will be described.
First, the retainer 60 is inserted into the retainer mounting hole 12 of the connector housing 10 from the side, and the retainer 60 is held in the temporary locking position by the locking of the locking arm 64 and the temporary locking receiving portion 13. In this state, the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity 11 of the connector housing 10 from the rear. When the terminal fitting interferes with the lance 15 during the insertion process, the lance 15 is bent and deformed downward (toward the bending space 20) with the base as a fulcrum, thereby allowing further insertion of the terminal fitting. When the lance 15 is elastically restored along with the completion of the insertion, the locking projection 17 is elastically locked to the stepped portion of the terminal metal, thereby preventing the terminal metal from being temporarily removed.

  After all the terminal fittings have been properly inserted into the cavity 11, the retainer 60 is then pushed toward the final locking position. When the retainer 60 reaches the final locking position, the holding projections 66 are simultaneously locked to the step portions different from the above in the terminal metal fitting, and the terminal metal fitting is secondarily prevented from coming off. Thereafter, when the connector housing 10 is fitted to a mating connector housing (not shown), the terminal fitting is electrically connected to the mating terminal fitting accommodated in the mating connector housing.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
The cavity 11 of the connector housing 10 is eccentric in the width direction with respect to the lance 15 aligned with the cavity 11 in the height direction, and is located relatively closer to the center of the connector housing 10 in the width direction than the lance 15. Even if the width of the connector housing 10 is narrow, the wall thickness B between the width direction side surface of the cavity 11 and the width direction side surface of the connector housing 10 can be sufficiently secured. On the other hand, the lance 15 closest to the side surface in the width direction of the connector housing 10 is positioned relatively closer to both sides in the width direction of the connector housing 10 than the cavity 11. The wall thickness D between the punching hole 18 corresponding to 15 and the punching hole 18 adjacent to the punching hole 18 can be sufficiently secured. As a result, the connector can be reduced in size without hindrance.

  In particular, even if the connector housing 10 is provided with the retainer mounting hole 12, the retainer mounting hole 12 is located behind the lance 15 and the die-cutting hole 18. A sufficient wall thickness B can be secured between the connector housing 10 and the side surface in the width direction, and it is possible to avoid a lack of strength here. Further, since the wall thickness B between the width direction side surface of the retainer mounting hole 12 and the width direction side surface of the connector housing 10 can be sufficiently secured in this way, the latch for holding the retainer 60 in the wall thickness B is ensured. It becomes possible to set the receiving parts 13 and 14 without trouble.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) The cavity may be narrow at the front end that opens to the front surface of the connector housing and wide at the portion other than the front end. In this case, a box-shaped main body portion of the terminal fitting is inserted into the front end portion of the cavity, and a barrel portion wider than the main body portion is inserted into the portion excluding the front end portion of the cavity. According to this, since it becomes difficult to ensure the wall thickness B between the width direction side surface of the cavity (wide portion of the cavity) and the width direction side surface of the connector housing, the wall thickness B is reduced by applying the present invention. It is good to secure enough.
(2) The lance may have a doubly-supported beam shape whose front and rear ends are connected to the inner wall of the cavity.
(3) Three or more cavities and lances may be provided side by side in the width direction of the connector housing. In this case, the cavity closest to the side surface of the connector housing in the width direction is eccentric in the width direction with respect to the lance aligned with the cavity in the height direction, and is positioned relatively closer to the center in the width direction of the connector housing than the lance. It only has to be. Further, the cavity and the lance may be provided in the height direction in one room, or three or more rooms side by side.
(4) The cross-sectional shape of the cavity is not particularly limited.

The front view showing the state before attaching a retainer to the connector housing of Embodiment 1 of this invention. Cross-sectional view of connector housing in comparative example Cross section of connector housing Side view of connector housing

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector housing 11 ... Cavity 12 ... Retainer installation hole 15 ... Lance 17 ... Locking protrusion 18 ... Die release hole 60 ... Retainer

Claims (1)

The connector housing is provided with a plurality of cavities into which the terminal fittings can be inserted from the rear side by side in the width direction,
On the inner wall of the cavity, a lance for preventing the terminal fitting from coming off is provided along with the cavity in the height direction,
On the both sides in the width direction of the lance is a connector provided with die-cutting holes when molding the lance that are connected to both side surfaces in the width direction of the cavity and wider than both side surfaces,
The cavity closest to the side surface in the width direction of the connector housing is eccentric in the width direction with respect to the lance aligned in the height direction with the cavity, and is positioned relatively closer to the center in the width direction of the connector housing than the lance. And
The connector housing is provided with a retainer mounting hole into which a retainer for secondary removal of the terminal fitting inserted into the cavity through the cavity can be inserted behind the lance and the mold punching hole. And
The widthwise side surface of the retainer mounting hole is connected to the widthwise side surface of the cavity in the front-rear direction, and a latch receiving portion for holding the retainer is recessed in the widthwise side surface of the retainer mounting hole . A connector characterized by that.

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